Pharmacopoeia

pharmacopoeia or pharmocopeia (fär'məkəpē`ə), authoritative publication designating the properties, action, use, dosage, and standards of strength and purity of drugs. It is compiled under the supervision of professional, usually governmental, authority, and all manufacture and dispensation of drugs and medications are required to conform to it. The first work of this kind, the Nuremburg Pharmacopoeia, was published in Germany in 1546. Similar volumes appeared from time to time in other cities, but there was a wide variation and the need became apparent to standardize such publications under national direction. The first pharmacopoeia published in the United States was compiled for army use and appeared in Philadelphia in 1778. The United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) was first published in 1820 following a convention of medical societies in Washington, D.C. This compendium became the legal standard in 1906 by enactment of the Food and Drug Act. The USP is brought up to date periodically by a committee of the U.S. Pharmacopoeial Convention; supplements are published as needed. Other nations have similar standardized pharmacopoeias.

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pharmacopoeia (sometimes US), pharmacopeia

an authoritative book containing a list of medicinal drugs with their uses, preparation, dosages, formulas, etc.

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pharmacopoeia [‚fär·mə·kə′pē·ə]

(pharmacology)

A book containing a selected list of medicinal substances and their dosage forms, providing also a description and the standards for purity and strength for each.

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Pharmacopoeia 

a book containing descriptions of medicinal substances and providing standards for the purity and dosage of the substances. The first pharmacopoeia, the Ricettario Fiorentino (Florentine Book of Prescriptions), was issued in Florence in 1498. The first such work in Russia, the Pharmacopoea Rossica, was published in 1778.

The tenth, and current, edition of the official Soviet pharmacopoeia appeared in 1968. The Pharmacopoeia Committee is responsible for the compilation, revision, and reissue of the work, which has the force of law. The pharmacopoeia’s standards for medicinal products are mandatory for all the enterprises and establishments that prepare, store, use, and control these products. The pharmacopoeia includes descriptions of the methods of chemical, physicochemical, and biological analyses of drugs, information on reagents and indicators, a list of toxic drugs (list A), a list of highly potent drugs (list B), and tables of maximum single and daily doses for adults and children.

Many countries have national pharmacopoeias. The World Health Organization publishes Pharmacopoea Internationalis, which, however, lacks legal force.